Pella Boys Soccer Sweeps Home Tournament
The Pella boys soccer team leaned heavily on strong defensive play and timely scoring to earn two wins at their home invitational Saturday.

No. 6 in 2A Pella defeated No. 7 ADM 2-1 in the morning opener, and found a goal late in the afternoon to hold off Hudson 1-0.

Against the Tigers, Pella struck first in the 21st minute, when a PK set up a scoring chance for Ike Held. Twelve minutes later, ADM crossed up the Pella back line on a give-and-go pass, and knotted the score going into halftime.

With the howling wind at their back, the Dutch controlled possession for the majority of the final 40 minutes, and a clean shot by Austin Bone passed the Tigers’ keeper gave them the 2-1 edge they needed in the 55th minute.

In the afternoon, Pella struggled to find offensive consistency against Hudson, despite keeping pressure on the Pirates for most of the match. Geordie Laidlaw hit a bullet of a shot from 20 yards out and tucked it into the right corner of the net in the 78th minute to give Pella the last minute win in regulation.

The No. 6 in 2A Dutch improve to 11-2 overall, and have a big-time match Tuesday night with potential conference championship implications, as they welcome No. 5 Dallas Center-Grimes to Pella HIgh School.